V M Dragons and Fighters and Stairs, OH MY!

[Malloki Tuwile]

The pain of his last moments of life on top of the rebirth were not as thoroughly enjoyed as before. So immense were they that poor Malloki had been rendered unconscious for the first moments of his new life. No dreams came to the nearly comatose man, just a blissful empty darkness.

As consciousness slowly creeped in like godrays around an eclipse, Malloki struggled to recall all the details about his encounter with Dolloki. The man-doll wanted something. He had never thought about what Dolloki wanted, or what he got out of handing out these gifts.

But the macabre powerhouse behind the veil was generous, so what did Malloki really have to worry about?

Peeling himself up off the ground to a sitting position, Malloki took a moment to look around at the new world before him. Except… it was not a new world he saw. Malloki was sitting in a dense underbrush of some sort of lightly wooded forest. The number of stumps around suggested this area was used for logging.

Why would Dolloki send me somewhere so loosely populated? The question in his mind and the slow panning gaze lead him to spot a rather elaborate mansion in the distance.

Wait a minute… There were trees behind the mansion. Normal sized trees, he assumed by the squirrel climbing up one. He rolled onto his knees and painstakingly clambered closer to the tiny house. When the slip of paper taped to the side caught his eye, there was a moment of hesitation.

”Another gift.”

He did not know Dolloki’s handwriting, but the elegant script and the way the ink was allowed to trickle down before bleeding into the paper seemed like his type of thing. The real-world gift? Not so much. Dolloki had bestowed many gifts, but all of them within Malloki himself.

Moving closer, he realized the little mansion would rise to his thigh if he stood, but for the moment he stayed on the ground. A cautious hand took the note off the dollhouse’s wall and unfolded it.

”My dear Malloki,

I have come to realize that our current games are not sustainable. Playing with everyone you meet was fun, for a while. I am afraid we need to rethink our strategy. Namely, we need one. I cannot keep giving out such fine gifts if you visit me before gathering what I need.”

He needs stuff? Weird. Thought he was a ghosty boi! The thought gave his reading pause but just as quickly as he derailed, the reigns of that horse were pulled back onto the rails.

”The gift I gave you, to see those more powerful than yourself… Those are the players we want in our game. Choose wisely of them, and perhaps refrain from visiting too soon. The longer you play, the better the toys I can grant you.” While he did not like having to stay his hand with all the fun games, the idea of bigger and better toys was interesting.

”My reach into the real world is finite… and resurrecting you costs me much. With that same influence, I could manifest many great things in time… Like this special gift you see before you. This, my ambitious Malloki, is me telling you to take a break now and then. Enjoy yourself in other ways. We only want the big players.

Merely knock three times and open the door. You will find almost anything you desire within.

Until next time…

Dolloki.

P.S. Hopefully not too soon.”





Seeing as he was once again nude with no pockets to hold onto the letter, he just kept it in hand for now. He shuffled over to the “front” of the victorian-gothic style dollhouse and hunkered down in front of the door. With great care, he took the steel knocker between his thumb and index finger and gave it three solid taps.

What came next baffled even the irrational man. As he pinched the doorknob and gave it a turn, his body was slowly pulled towards the dollhouse without his hand ever moving. As the door swung open, he realized he was holding himself slightly aloft by the now realistically sized doorknob.

However, a quick glance over his shoulder revealed it was not the dollhouse that grew, but Malloki that had shrunk. “Ho...lee… crackerjacks.” Clambering to his feet for the first time since his revival, Malloki could not help but stare at the absolutely massive forest just outside his door.

Curious, he stepped out of the dollhouse and onto an oversized leaf. Almost instantly he began to grow back to his six-foot-who-cares height. “WOAH! Like a freakin’ YO-YO, yo!”

And back in he went. This time, he crouched low enough to reach the door, then straightened his knees as he shrank so that he stood in the open door, instead of hung from it. “Thumbalina ain’t got SHIT on me!”

While he was tempted to play with the door all day, he shut the door and took a gander at his new abode -- courtesy of Dolloki. While the outside was tiny, his new size belied the nature of the contents within. Had he been regular size, the roofs would have stretched at least eight feet high, except for the foyer, with a large opening to the second story and stairs leading up.

“Woooahhh…”

 

[Malloki Tuwile]

The inside of the dollhouse looked, for lack of a better word, redonculous. On a large scale, Malloki could understand the amount of detail. Knowing he was a fraction of his original size he realized that everything in the foyer was absolutely tiny by comparison. The oddest part came in the form of a functioning light switch.

How? That was the biggest question here. Just how. Everything from the lighting, to the off-white walls and cherry oak hardwood floors screamed elegance. Did he take a normal house and shrink it down, or just... The complexities of Dolloki’s power baffled him.

He took a moment to explore. Only a moment though; that was all it took for Malloki to find the den. Eyes widened at the glorious sight. The sectional couch had a modern feel, very comfortable, and the overstuffed armchair next to it was a matching color scheme. One wall held an unlit fireplace, while the other held an absolutely massive television.

There was no way that would work.

As he approached the open space in front of the television, the eyes full of wonder wandered to another note left on the dark oak entertainment center. He nabbed this note with far less hesitation.

”My Dear Malloki,

I know how you enjoy your games. Asking you to visit less and to cease the more mindless games on your adventures is quite the request. For my selfishness, I have supplied ample distractions around your new abode.

Sincerely,
Dolloki.”

He held the note alongside the other. I should keep these safe, he thought. He went through all this effort for me! I should really pay him back. He thought of going out and immediately seeking someone bright on his new radar, but Dolloki’s parting words reminded him to take it easy… more or less.

The slightly less unhinged man fetched the television remote for some good ol’ senseless television violence. He turned to head for the couch but doubled back when he realized there was another remote. Designed for two hands, he vaguely remembered something along the lines if videogames from his past life - prior to the Good Doctor.

On second thought, he placed the remote back down. Let’s explore. He did not want to get sucked into one thing quite yet, and now that he identified the several boxy shapes as consoles, he could easily spend a week going through the vast collection of obscure names.

“NEXT ROOM!” He shouted into the open air, finger pointing the way. He continued on into what was no doubt a kitchen.

A fully stocked kitchen… and another note. “Damn, he really likes to write!” Of course he snatched the note off the island counter and placed the others down to give his new notice a good read.

”My Ravenous Malloki,

Though it was within my power to manifest a kitchen, and to stock it with wondrous goods and the ability for you to simply conjure food at your leisure, I fear it is limited.

That which is conjured within your abode will be tasteful and filling, but it is naught but a manifestation. You must still seek nutrition elsewhere. Such mortal requirements are beyond my understanding of your world as of yet.

Apologetically,
Dolloki.

P.S. Stop holding your breath, I remembered air.”

At the final sentence, Malloki exhaled a breath he had been holding since the letter mentioned mortal requirements. Indeed, he had immediately worried about too quickly consuming the air within the abode. It’s like he’s inside my head!

Nah.

Dismissing the thought, Malloki quickly dipped his head inside the icebox for a quart of ice cream. He was always reborn with an empty stomach. His next move was a few paces to a particular drawer that opened to reveal exactly what he needed. Spoons. Oddly, just spoons… for whatever reason.

With his new snack in tow, the satisfied Living Voodoo continued his exploration of the dollhouse-turn-mansion.

Only a few rooms were actually furnished. The den, kitchen, laundry room, and one bedroom in particular. The laundry room was simple enough, just utilities and a bottle of Dolloki’s Detergent - whatever that entailed.

The owner’s suite was something that put a pause to Malloki’s wondering. Three empty rooms before it lead to the thought that every other room was a blank canvas beyond the den and kitchen. This thought was quite wrong.

The master bedroom was a luxurious layout of a king sized bed - relative to the shrunken size of the user - with scratchy burlap quilting. He could already see the lumps bulging beneath the thick covers, and pillows with no regular shape.

“Oh shizt,” he murmured around a spoon of melted ice cream. Slurping the lumpy mess down, his first step through the door was greeted with the most delightful unpleasant scratching at overly starched shag carpet.

It crunched like a bag of chips beneath his feet. A few more crunches lead Malloki to his new bed, which he happily flopped onto. Bare ass naked, he could feel the itching of the cloth all over his body. It was horrible.

It was great.

With the tub of ice cream sat upon his chest, turning one poor nipple into a diamond, he was ready to fall asleep to the tickle of the cheap burlap. This bed was perfect. It was only when his lazy gaze fell onto a note pinned to the closet door that he remembered there was more to see.

With a groan and a heave, he rolled across the bed towards the closet. This note was pulled with far less care off the wall. Malloki was quickly becoming desensitized ot the letters of his patron.

”My Darling Malloki,

I have heard this bed is the most uncomfortable in all the worlds. Naturally, I manifested one for you in a larger size.

In the wardrobe, you will find a few sample clothes. The clothing already present is the only thing within this domain that you may remove from it. Should you wish to add to this selection, you must acquire materials from the real world.

Contently,
Dolloki.”

“New threads!” With gusto, Malloki threw open the closet door. The grin painted on his face was brief. “He can’t be serious.”

Wall to wall, Malloki gazed upon what was officially known as Disco Nightmare. Bright neon colors, bell bottoms, bejeweled belts, flared collars… He quickly shut the door. “At least he tried… and that’s all that counts.

 

[Malloki Tuwile]

Buried within the outdated attire, Malloki found something timeless. Sweatpants, flip flops and a plain breast-pocket T-shirt. The simple, lazy attire would be fine until Malloki found himself a new set of clothing.

Honestly, being reborn naked is probably the worst part. The thought was dismissed as he pulled the wardrobe from the closet and closed the door. Tossing the articles on the footboard of the worlds most uncomfortable bed, he then tossed himself right on the bristle-lined comforter and spread eagle.

“Ahh, that’s the ticket!” The soothing itch that spread along his naked backside had his skin crawl, inflaming into a faint rash in a matter of minutes. “Now… How do I find the nearest civilization?” The thought spoken aloud was heard by no one but the walls that made up his bedroom.

The walls understood. Unbeknownst to Malloki, eight spindly legs slid from beneath the abode he dwelled within. As the dollhouse rose and began its gangly walk, nothing within jostled. Malloki swiftly fell asleep within his bed. As the spider-house moved, he dreamed.

And what sweet nightmares they were. Not as sweet, however, as the nightmares that dwelled within the nearest nest of civilization; Grimlet.